WICHITA, Kansas – While city officials hoped construction for the expansion of US-54 from 2 lanes to 3 in areas east of the turnpike, it’s looking like things won’t get started until closer to fall 2015 or early 2016.

For more than a year now, the city has been preparing for the expansion; having meetings, talking to residents, and even buying land.

“The city purchased the property for the Kellogg expansion,” said Nazir Jesri, owner of Absolute Natural Stones, “and we’re gonna have to move or be on the street” he added with a laugh.

But once again, the expansion has been delayed.

“Nobody likes uncertainty, nobody likes it, whether a business owner or a homeowner,” said Jesri, “but something we have to live with, hopefully that delay is for the better.”

It’s a project city officials say is desperately needed, but after hitting a roadblock earlier this year with only one bid coming in — and coming in over budget — things are once against on unsteady ground.

“Right now things are a little bit…..in limbo,” said Wichita city engineer Gary Janzen. “We may decide that maybe it makes sense to start east instead of west, I don’t know yet. Those are the things we are discussing, those are the things that are out there.”

Officials are back to the drawing board to determine how things will work out, the design of the road, and once a date gets chosen, which project will start first with estimates that the work in it’s entirety could take as long as 8 years.